Friday, February 12, 2010

Artist Tim Hawkinson is known for altering everyday materials and creating works that touch on the broad issues about the intersection of human consciousness, nature and technology. With Möbius Ship, he employed a mix of found objects and common household materials— twist ties, craft wood, staples, and packing material—which he transformed into a complex and awe-inspiring sculpture.

Like the methods of ship-in-a-bottle hobbyists, Hawkinson created a detailed model ship that twists in upon itself. The title is a play on Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, which famously relates the tale of a ship captain’s all-consuming obsession with the elusive white whale. The ambitious structure of Hawkinson’s sculpture offers an uncanny visual metaphor for Melville’s epic tale, which is sometimes considered the Great American novel. (Source.)